Teens, young adults and adults seek orthodontic treatment from a cosmetic dentist in Cheney, Colfax and Liberty Lake for either functional or cosmetic reasons. Braces correct teeth that have misalignment issues. Yet, traditional metal braces can make it difficult for those receiving orthodontic treatment to enjoy their lives. They force you to experience unnecessary restrictions and obstruct your smile. Clear plastic, custom-fitted trays commonly known as Invisalign aligners can give you the smile you’ve always wanted and a better bite without causing hassles during treatment.
Consider the following five reasons you should talk to your family dentist about choosing Invisalign over metal braces:
1. Reduced Treatment Timeframe
One of the biggest problems with metal braces is that treatment typically takes several years. A teen, for example, might need them for up to three years or longer. The placement of metal braces can take hours. A patient might need to return to the office several times initially for a dentist or orthodontist to further adjust the fit, smooth rough or sharp spots and correct other comfort-related problems. Over the years, the patient must return to the office repeatedly for adjustments or bracket and wire refittings and replacements.
With Invisalign, the same patient might only need to wear their aligners for up to 15 months. We make the trays to custom-fit your mouth in our dedicated dental lab, which means placement of the aligner takes less time. We typically only need to make slight adjustments to the semi-rigid plastic to guarantee that there’s no unwanted, painful pressure spots on teeth or along the gums. Most patients return to the office once approximately every six weeks to three months for adjustments or new next-step or replacement aligners.
2. Less Painful and Costly than Traditional Braces
Invisalign clear aligners don’t rub uncomfortably against the inside of the cheeks. They don’t have brackets or wires that can pop off and painfully poke soft tissues or require an emergency dentist appointment. Even an affordable dentist charges higher rates to arrange an unscheduled appointment to fix these types of problems.
We create a mold of the current shape of your teeth and gum-line so the plastic fits more comfortably inside of your mouth. Although you can expect some discomfort each time we reposition your teeth, we make certain that it’s not from an ill-fitting aligner. Additionally, your aligner won’t cause continuous discomfort or injury to your mouth if it cracks or breaks. You don’t have to schedule an emergency dentist appointment. You can just remove the aligner until we have a replacement ready.
3. Fewer Treatment Restrictions
When a patient receives traditional metal braces, they also receive a long list of rules to maintain optimal conditions in their mouth. These restrictions protect against unwanted repositioning of one or more teeth by bent wires, reduce some emergency appointments and prevent tooth decay. The biggest restrictions involve food. Patients with metal braces are told not to eat chewy, hard, sticky or sweet foods.
Although patients with Invisalign aligners must also limit their consumption of these foods, they don’t have to give them up entirely. Some of these types of foods can damage to teeth outside of orthodontic treatment, such as chewing on ice or eating hard or sticky candy without brushing afterward. That said, you can enjoy eating any limited foods now and then as a treat or at an important event without worry that they’ll damage your appliance. You merely remove the clear aligner trays to eat. After you brush your teeth, you refit the aligners around them.
4. Simple Care of Invisalign Aligners
As previously noted, it’s hard to keep your teeth clean when you have to brush and floss around brackets and wires. Even if a patient has metal braces with a self-ligating bracket system, they must still carefully brush and floss so that they clean every nook and cranny. They must also use an incredibly gentle hand so that they don’t bend wires by accident.
With Invisalign clear aligners, you don’t have to worry about missing any spots or wasting a lot of time struggling to perform oral hygiene techniques. You also don’t have to stress out about accidentally damaging the Invisalign trays. You simply remove them, brush your teeth and floss as you would normally, gently brush the aligners with a soft-bristled toothbrush, rinse your mouth and the aligners and then refit the aligners around your teeth.
5. Moderate Impact on Life
Lastly, beyond learning techniques to cope with the initial discomfort that naturally occurs with repositioning of teeth, you won’t experience a huge negative impact on your life. The trays aren’t distractingly noticeable, which means that you can wear them at school or work without drawing attention to the fact that you’re receiving treatment.
You never have to worry about severe treatment disruptions because of emergencies or life’s big moments. Patients with metal braces often experience extra months of treatment beyond any estimated timeframe because they miss appointments when sick, experiencing major life events or taking time off on vacation. With Invisalign, the majority of patients can miss an appointment and lose little time related to starting new trays or dealing with adjustments. Updates to metal braces can take a half hour or longer while adjustments to new Invisalign trays can take 15 minutes or less.
At Mint Condition Dental, we want our patients to have beautiful, healthy teeth that last a lifetime. We provide resources like this one to help you make informed decisions about your oral health. For more information, talk to a member of our caring team today.
